THE heart of a community has been saved from ruin after scooping more than £265,000 which will transform it back into the hub of village life.

The Wilson Centre has served Long Newton near Stockton since 1887 but a building survey revealed than unless urgent repairs were carried out the crumbling facility could be condemned in less than five years.

The cash injection of £266,801 from the BIG Lottery Fund’s Community Buildings programme announced today secures the hall’s future for future generations.

The new insulated and refurbished centre will feature meeting rooms, a fitted kitchen, post office and internet cafe. John Rosser, vice chairman of the Wilson Centre Management Committee, said the "village hub" project had taken two years to develop.

"The building was on its last legs. It has only had a very small amount of maintenance work in more than 100 years but we have managed to keep it ticking over," he said.

"But to secure its long term future we really had to access some major funding and we are overjoyed that we have been granted the exact amount of funding that we asked for.

"We were told that about 1,000 village halls had applied for money but only one in 10 got through the first phase of the selection process."

"The centre is a vital resource for the community, it really is the hub. A real village asset has truly been saved and will be launched anew."

The parish council, after school club and Women’s Institute, local history group and adult education classes will all be held in the new-look centre which can also be hired out for private use.

Building work is due to start by April next year and it should be fully functional by October.

James Turner, head of the North-East BIG Lottery Fund, said funding was awarded to buildings that housed a range of services that met communities’ needs.

"The Wilson centre’s village hub project has the potential to benefit many people in the local area. It is an extremely worthy venture and one that BIG is delighted to support," he added.